Five highlights of the group stage of Euro 2024

On June 29 at the European Championship in Germany the matches of the 1/8 finals will start. Before the elimination games, we recall the five main events of the group stage.

The oldest goal in the history of the Euro

38 years and 289 days - that's how old Luka Modric was on June 24, 2024 at the moment when he sent the ball into the gate of the Italian national team. This is a European Championships record - the Croatian became the oldest footballer who distinguished himself at the tournament. To beat his own record at this year's CE Luka will not be able to: Croatia, having scored two points at the group stage, did not reach the playoffs even from third place. Modric may not go to the next major continental tournament.

Equality in Group E

The most unusual situation at the first stage was in Group E, in which Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine played. At the end of three rounds, each team won, lost and drew one match each, earning four points. Places in the group had to be allocated according to an additional indicator - goal difference between goals scored and conceded. As a result, the first was Romania, which scored one goal more than it conceded. The second place went to the Belgians (2-1). The third place went to the Slovaks, who also qualified for the playoffs. Ukraine was off the board: three goals conceded in the first match against Romania let them down.

The Balkans and their scandals

Traditionally, the teams from the Balkan Peninsula and their fans were the most emotional in every sense of the word. For example, Kosovo twice complained about the Serbs, and the Serbian delegation, in turn, had a Kosovo journalist stripped of his accreditation. By the way, the Kosovo national team did not even make it to the Euros - yet the country is actively involved in the "fire" between the Balkan countries. Twice the Serbs complained about Albania, and another time the "eagles" received from North Macedonia. By the way, the scandal associated with the Albanian national team is the loudest at this Euro: forward Mirlind Daku, who plays for Kazan's Rubin Kazan, after the match against Croatia, began shouting in a megaphone insulting remarks about Serbs and Macedonians (the latter, by the way, are not at the Euro). As a result, the player was suspended from the match of the third round, and Albania did not qualify for the playoffs.

Georgia is not only Kvaratskhelia

The Georgian national team has truly become the main discovery of the current European Championship. The Georgians barely made it to the tournament, having won the coveted ticket through the knockout matches of the Nations League. In the decisive match they beat Greece on penalties. Initially, it was hard to imagine that the Georgians would go through. In the first match they lost to Turkey 1:3, and in the second they drew with the Czech Republic 1:1. And in the third round the Transcaucasians created a small miracle by beating Portugal 2-0.

Napoli striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who previously played in the Russian championship, is considered the main star of the Georgians. But he has only one goal on his account so far - but it was the winning goal against Portugal. But the best scorer of the team and the whole Euro is Georges Mikautadze. He scored in every match of his team in the group stage. In the 1/8 finals Georgia will play with Spain.

Seven goals for four

Group C was the most unproductive group at the Euros. England, Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia scored only seven goals for four - an average of 1.2 goals per game. Both matches of the third round ended 0-0. England's only win in the group came against Serbia with a minimal score.